It Was My Fault
by MedliSage
Summary: Nanoha and Vita leave on a small mission. It's supposed to be a quick job, but after years of overworking her body, Nanoha just can't react fast enough. Pre-StrikerS, based off the flashback of Nanoha's injury.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, including plot, characters, setting, whatever. I wish I owned it, though. That'd be pretty cool.

A/N: Well, here's my first Nanoha fic. It's just my take on the events before StrikerS where Nanoha got hurt. Probably going to be 3 – 4 chapters or so. Please review, and I'll love you forever! Also: translations for Graf Eisen's German words at the bottom.

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**It Was My Fault**

_By MedliSage_

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Chapter One

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"It's a short mission, I'll be back soon."

"Be careful anyway."

The brown-haired girl nodded. "Ready, Vita?"

Vita nodded. "Let's go, Eisen."

Nanoha Takamachi and Vita of the Wolkenritter jumped out of the helicopter into the snowy fields, transforming into their barrier jackets during the drop. The opening shut where they had left.

"You worry too much," Vice, the helicopter pilot said. "She'll be fine."

Fate turned and smiled. "I know. I just don't want her to get carried away." She took her seat in the helicopter.

"It's lucky they were here," Fate continued, "and we were in the area. Smuggled Lost Logia can be really dangerous."

The pilot nodded. "How come Signum isn't here?"

"I believe she's assisting Shamal and Zafira on another small mission," Fate said.

Vice nodded, and Fate leaned against the wall. It was really too bad, since she, Nanoha, and Vita were coming back from a TSA meeting, and planned on going out later today. Even though this mission wouldn't take long, they'd have to write up reports after that, which would take a while.

It had been three years since the Book of Darkness incident. Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, and the Wolkenritter continued to work for the Bureau. Lindy was still in command of _Asura_, but it had been rumored she was to retire soon, and Chrono, who had recently become engaged to Amy, was going to become Admiral. Fate smiled at the thought of her adopted older brother, and her adopted mother. They were very kind to her. And of course, she had great friends. Signum acted almost like a mentor and older sister to her. Nanoha and Hayate were her best friends. And of course, the rest of the Wolkenritter, even though Hayate was getting older, still looked after her and cared about her deeply.

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"_Tödliche Strafe!" _Graf Eisen said out, as Vita charged another bot. "Dammit," she muttered. "I didn't think there'd be this many...!"

Nanoha nodded. "Whoever wanted to smuggle this relic wanted to smuggle it badly..."

Another droid came up behind them, and Nanoha shielded them once again. It was getting tiring, and although the number of bots _seemed _to be thinning, there were still many. It was getting tiring for them, Nanoha especially, and Vita could see it. This wasn't like her to tire out so early.

"Nanoha, are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said between deep breaths, "I'm fine. I'll let the shield down and you try and hit more of them."

Vita nodded. "Eisen!" She called out to her device.

"_Explosion!" _Graf Eisen said as another cartridge was loaded.

The shield was lowered. More bots were gathering around them.

"_Schwalbe Fliegen!" _

Vita had four silver balls appear between her fingers, and hit them all in a row with her device. Each was a direct hit as they exploded on their target.

That didn't do much however, since they were being grouped up on more and more.

"Let's go higher," Nanoha said.

"Right," Vita replied as the two ascended.

"I'm going to try a mass attack," Nanoha said, looking at the swarm of bots beneath them. Some were even bigger and had sharp blades attacked to their tentacle-like arms. She didn't like the looks of this. By the time they had got there, the building was already burning. They didn't think it was that bad. Luckily there wasn't anyone around. It was just a small transport center, after all.

"Alright," Vita said, flying behind her. "I'll cover you." Bots were flying up now, just the small ones though. She took them down easy with one hammer smash.

Nanoha's signature pink aura appeared under her. "Div... Divine..." She closed her eyes, and the aura faded. She was running out of energy.

"Nanoha, are you sure you're okay? You usually don't run out of power that fast."

"I can do it, I'm fine," Nanoha said. With more determination, the magic aura appeared under her once again, as she pointed her staff down at the gadgets. "Divine..."

Vita looked around. There was one bot headed up over to the right, just out of her reach. She flew down a little bit, since Nanoha was going to get everything else anyway. She raised her hammer to smash it down.

That's when she heard the most sickening noise ever. It was the sound of something slicing into something, but just what were the somethings? Maybe a bot accidentally killed another... no... there was something dripping... she could hear it... some fell on her arm... a red substance... it couldn't be blood...

She blinked. Was there another mage around? No. They'd scanned the area beforehand. She feared for her partner, but didn't look at her. That would never happen, right? Not to Nanoha. Nanoha was too skilled for that. She scanned the ground quickly. Nothing but bots. Just to prove her fears wrong, Vita looked back up.

The blade came out of her chest, dripping with blood. The red essence slowly spread over the top of her barrier jacket, as Nanoha began to drop out of the sky, Raising Heart falling helplessly next to her as she dropped it.

For a split second, Vita froze, her eyes wide. She couldn't believe it. Did Nanoha just get hurt? Nanoha got _hurt_, never mind _stabbed? _And no, no not... not_ killed... _That's impossible...

"Nanoha!!" She cried, flying after her. She managed to catch her, stumbling onto the ground. "Nanoha!!" She yelled again, holding her. There wasn't a response. Her eyes were shut, and the blood was spreading. The two were knocked to the side by another bot.

Vita and the unconscious Nanoha tumbled over the snowy landscape. The red-haired girl slowly stood up. There were still a good deal of the bots around.

"You bastards..." She tightened her grip on Graf Eisen.

"_Explosion – Raketen form."_

"YOU BASTARDS!" Vita yelled, jumping up and smashing everything she could hit, with all her strength. She used the boost of her missile form to spin around, busting everything she hit in a single shot. Not long after she began her rampage, just scrap metal covered the ground, snow slowly speckling it.

Vita looked around, disoriented from her own rage. What was going on? Where was Nanoha? Nanoha... Nanoha got hurt, right! Where was she... Vita looked down at herself. She definitely had some bruises and a few cuts, but nothing bad. She looked around for Nanoha. She really over did it there – her vision was a little foggy. Then, she saw those brown pigtails slowly blowing in the wind, blood splatter on some of her hair.

"Nanoha!!" She yelled, running clumsily over to her. Vita collapsed on her knees, holding her back up. "Nanoha!"

Nanoha made a small, soft moan, as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Nanoha! Nanoha, I'm so sorry, I, I just, are you okay?!" Vita managed to put this semi-coherent sentence together.

"I'm sorry..." Nanoha said, her voice barely audible. "It was my mistake... are you alright, Vita?"

"I'm fine!" Vita yelled. "Just hold on, help's on the way! Just hang in there, Nanoha!" It occurred to her Nanoha was unconscious again.

"_Hayate! Hayate!" _Vita said frantically through her mind.

"_Vita, what's wrong? Are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine, Hayate! Nanoha, Nanoha's...!"_

"_I'll get help there right now!"_

Hayate sent orders for a helicopter to take Shamal and a couple other doctors to the scene immediately. Fate arrived back at the Ground Forces HQ soon after, and found Shamal getting into the helicopter.

"What happened?" Fate asked.

"I don't have time to explain," Shamal said, "Go talk to Hayate!"

Fate blinked, confused. However, she did as she was told, and went to see Hayate.

"Hayate, what's –"

"I really don't know. I just got a transmission from Vita, a few minutes ago."

"Did something happen? Is Vita okay?" Fate said, starting to worry.

"She said she was fine."

"Then..."

"It's Nanoha, Fate. It sounded bad."

Fate's eyes went wide as panic struck her like a knife to the stomach. "Is she okay? What happened?"

"I really don't know," Hayate repeated. "Vita was really worried though..."

The two stood in silence for a moment.

"They should be back soon," Hayate said. "We can see what's up then, and probably get the full story from Vita."

Fate slowly nodded, and looked out the window. _Nanoha... please be safe..._

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"Nanoha..." Vita repeated, shaking her lightly. "Nanoha, please wake up!! Hey, Nanoha!!"

Yet again, there was no response from Nanoha Takamachi. She just lay there, not making a sound, her eyes shut. By now, the blood had spread all over. Vita had been doing her best to try and wipe her with her own barrier jacket, but she couldn't do much.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, the helicopter came down. Shamal rushed out. "Vita, what's wrong?!"

"It's Nanoha!!" Vita said. She was actually sobbing now. "Shamal, you need to help her, please!"

Shamal knelt down on the other side of Nanoha to give her a quick overview. She didn't say anything, but her expression clearly said that it was very, very bad. Vita saw this, and sobbed harder.

"Vita, it's okay," Shamal said, making a failed effort to calm her. The other doctors came out of the helicopter.

"Come on, let's get her to HQ, fast," one of them said. "And I mean fast, by the looks of this."

Two of them picked Nanoha up, and rushed to the helicopter with her.

Shamal gently took Vita's hand. "Come on, Vita."

"Wait!" Vita said, tears still streaming down her face. "Raising Heart, where's Raising Heart?!" She looked around, and saw the cracked staff lying on the ground. She ran over and picked it up.

"_Is my master alright?"_

Vita swallowed, trying to stop the sobs. "She will be," Vita said. "Nanoha will be fine. Nanoha just got a little hurt."

"_All right."_

"Are you okay too, Raising Heart?"

"_As long as my master is fine, I am as well. Don't worry."_

Vita nodded, and followed Shamal inside the helicopter, carrying both devices. The door shut and it took off.

She glanced at Nanoha, who they were beginning to take a closer look at. They stuck needles in her, put a cloth on, and some other doctor stuff. Vita watched in silence.

_I'm sorry, Nanoha. It was my fault... I didn't protect you..._

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Chapter 1 end.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review.

Notes:

_Tödliche Strafe_ – Deadly Punishment

_Schwalbe Fliegen – _Swallow Flier

_Raketen form – _Missile Form


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews all! Here's my special birthday chapter, lol. (Today's my thirteenth b-day :D)

Reviews:  
**L4a: **Lol, thanks! Here's the next one. I was mainly trying to focus on Nanoha and Vita, particularly Vita last chapter.  
**DayDreamer: **I know, I felt so bad for her writing this. I wish they had elaborated more on it in StrikerS, because all we really get to know is that she got hurt on a mission with Vita. It's so sad. ;-;  
**Raikik: **Oh wow, thank you! 8D I'm glad you like it so much. And nope, not long wait for this chapter! Two days isn't too bad, right? ;D

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Chapter Two

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The helicopter landed, and two doctors immediately jumped out, carrying Nanoha on a stretcher. Shamal and Vita followed quickly, turning a corner and almost crashing into Fate and Hayate.

"What happened?!" Fate asked, her eyes wide.

"I'll explain in a minute!" Vita said, still carrying both Graf Eisen and Raising Heart. "I want to make sure she's okay!" She attempted shoving her way past the two.

"Vita, wait!" Shamal called after her. "They have to take her into surgery, and..."

"Surgery?!" Fate gasped.

Vita raised her voice. "Let me through!"

Hayate looked at Shamal, deciding not to ask the question out loud while Vita was around. _Shamal, how bad is it, really?_

Shamal looked down sadly. _Hayate... I'm not quite sure she'll make it... she took a blade to the chest which pierced her lung and came very close to her heart, and then fell, it looks like, and probably broke a bone or two... I think her spine might have been hurt too, and that means if she even wakes up now, there's no guaranteeing she'll fly, maybe even walk again..._

Vita finally forced her way through Fate and Hayate, running down the hall to the surgery room where the guard stopped her.

"There's an intense operation going on in here, I'm going to have to ask you to remain outside."

"But I need to see Nanoha!" Vita yelled.

"You're going to have to wait until after the surgery."

Vita glared angrily at the man. As much as she wanted to knock him into the wall and charge in to see how Nanoha was doing, she knew she couldn't. She was still repaying her debt off for her stealing the Linker Cores of the mages for the Book of Darkness a few years ago, and really didn't want to get Hayate or the Wolkenritter into any more trouble. So she just scowled and stalked off.

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Shamal explained into more detail what she had seen to Fate and Hayate. "I can't give a final judgment, I didn't have a lot of time to look," she finished, "but... I can still say that I don't know if she'll wake up again," she said sadly.

"Nanoha..." Fate said, tears starting to cloud her vision. She rubbed them away, looking at the ground. What if she had come with Nanoha? Would things have been alright?

Hayate looked up at Shamal. "There must be something we can do..."

Shamal shook her head. "The surgeons are working on her now... they'll probably be out soon enough and decide if she... makes it..."

Hearing that made Fate cry harder. _If_ she makes it? She might _not_ make it? She might _die_? Right here and now?

Hayate hugged her, attempting to console. Fate lightly hugged her back, still sobbing.

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Vita stared out the window gloomily. The sun was going to start setting soon. It had been a gloomy day out, overall. Which perfectly matched with the day's events.

Raising Heart, now in standby, blinked on the windowsill. _"How is my master?"_

Vita almost starting crying again, but stopped herself. "Nanoha's being worked on by the doctors right now."

"_Please do not feel bad," _it said.

"Why not?" Vita asked.

"_It is not your fault my master was hurt."_

"Yes it is. I went down to take down that last bot, and left her alone up there."

"_Maybe so. But I failed to protect my master in a time of need."_

"That's because you were charging your Divine Buster." Vita was starting to get annoyed at the gem. "Even if you noticed it, you would've have had time to do anything. Don't beat yourself up over this one, Raising Heart. Nanoha'd get upset."

"_I will think about it."_

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The hour and a half after Nanoha was rushed into the ER and the time a doctor came out seemed like days, months, even years. Shamal, Fate, and Hayate all stood anxiously outside the door and nearly jumped on the surgeon as he came out.

"How is she?" Vita asked quickly.

"She's... stable. For now."

Three sighs of relief were heard. She was stable. She was going to be okay.

"Wait, what do you mean 'for now?'" Hayate said.

"Well..." The doctor looked down.

The three girls watched him intently, worry hitting them once again like weight in their stomach.

"We were able to repair her lung, and... most nerves in her spine. However, when she was coming here, she did suffer a large amount of blood loss, and... well..."

"And what? And what?!" Vita said.

"The blood she was losing clogged her lungs temporarily, we had to drain it – and she showed signs of oxygen deprivation for that time. Unable to get the oxygen it needed, the brain shut down passively... in other words, she's in a coma. She's alive, though."

"A... what?" Fate said, unable to comprehend all that he just said. She was... alive. But... in a coma. So in a way, she wasn't really alive, but...

"She's basically unconscious, sort of sleeping."

"When will she wake up?" Hayate asked.

The doctor let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know if she will. Her brain might not be able to recover from that much oxygen loss. And, if she does wake up... well... I said we could repair most of the nerves... she probably won't be able to fly. Maybe not even walk."

No flying? No walking? Maybe not even waking up? The three were all thinking the same thing.

"Can we go see her?" They said in unison.

He nodded. "I don't know if you want to, though..."

"We do," Vita said.

"We moved her to intensive care. Her room number is 244."

The three nodded and rushed down the hall. They reached the intensive care quickly and walked into Nanoha's room. She was laying on the bed, bandages wrapped around her chest and other various places on her body. She had an oxygen mask on and a bunch of needles sticking in her for God-knows-what.

"Nanoha!" Vita said, running to her side. "Hey, Nanoha..."

Of course, there was no response. Fate and Hayate stood next to her as well.

"Nanoha... hey, come on, Nanoha... wake up..." Vita started sobbing. This couldn't be happening. And it was all her fault.

Hayate put her arm around her, and Vita just sobbed into her shirt. "Hayate... it's all my fault!" She managed between sobs.

"Don't say things like that, Vita..."

"But it is... I just went to hit one, and, and..."

"Vita, stop," Hayate said. "It's not your fault. And think of what Nanoha would do if she saw you like this now."

Vita sucked up her crying slowly. "Y-yeah... I'm sorry..." She gently pulled away from Hayate and put her hand on one of Nanoha's arm. "I'm sorry I acted like that, Nanoha. But please, get better, okay?" She wiped off the tears. "If you don't, we'll all be really sad." She paused. "Oh, here..." Vita reached into her pocket, pulling out Raising Heart and putting it on the table next to her. "Raising Heart's worried, too." It glistened softly.

"Why don't you get some rest, Vita?" Hayate suggested.

Vita gulped down another sob. "Yeah." She managed to smile. "I'll see you all later. You too, Nanoha. I'll be back." She turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

Fate and Hayate sat on either side of the bed next to Nanoha in silence for a moment.

"Do they even know why this happened? It doesn't seem like Nanoha to get hurt like this..." Hayate finally said.

Fate shook her head. "They might look into it."

Another moment of silence passed, before Hayate chose to speak up again.

"Hey, we're all supposed to be friends forever... right? So, you can't just give up on that here, Nanoha." She managed a weak smile. "I know what it's like to be in a hospital... it's not fun, but we all believe you can pull through this. After all, we're doing to make our own unit someday, right? Our own section."

Fate nodded. "She's right, Nanoha."

Hayate stood slowly. "I think I'm going to take a walk somewhere... would you like to come, Fate?"

"I'll meet you outside. Just a minute."

Hayate nodded, and headed outside the room, shutting the door behind her.

Fate looked at Nanoha, holding her hand. "Hey, Nanoha... is this because your overworked yourself too much? You were always a hard worker... and it was really starting to show that it took a toll on you." Fate's eyes watered, as she started to think about their times in the bureau with Hayate; working on cases, destroying little bots as practice, investigating, and even writing those boring reports. "I'm so sorry, Nanoha..." She said, starting to cry. "I... I should've come with you... I would've backed you up... this wouldn't have happened if I had just..." She sobbed, looking at the brown-haired girl's sleeping face. This might be the only way she ever sees her. All because Fate hadn't come with her.

"Hayate's probably waiting..." She choked up a bit on her tears. "I'll be back later, Nanoha..."

She slowly stood, heading over to the door.

"I'm so sorry, Nanoha... it's all my fault..."

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Chapter 2 end.

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A/N: Hope it was enjoyed! R&R please! Maybe if I get some happy birthday messages I'll update even faster. :D


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ta-da, chapter 3! I give special thanks for my new iPod for motivating me on this chapter. Ehe. For those (and by people I've talked to, it seems like the majority) who want more characters other than Nanoha and Vita participating, this chapter's for you! Lots of Fate and Hayate going on.

Reviews:  
**L4a:** Yeah, as I write this, I feel sorry for Vita too. Especially because she's one of my favorite characters.  
**Tenkaichi:** That might've been the most motivating and uplifting review I've ever received. I honestly do appreciate the happy birthday wish, and about the grammar being excellent, I have to admit I am a spelling/grammar freak. xP Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, as with anyone else who may be reading this.

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Chapter Three

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The two girls watched the sunset in silence. It was only 5:30 or so, but during this time of the year, the sun always set so early. It was cool out, but they'd felt worse winters. Finally, one of them decided to speak up.

"It's all my fault," Hayate said seriously, not looking over at the blonde standing next to her.

Fate, bewildered, looked over at her. "What?"

Hayate opened her mouth to explain herself, but it took her a second, a little startled at her own seriousness. "Well," she said, "if you look at the state Nanoha's in... you'd think this was a very dangerous mission, right?"

"I suppose..." Fate said slowly, not knowing where Hayate was going with this one.

"And yet, Vita only has a few bruises."

"Nanoha just made a mistake, probably. She's been tired lately, you know."

"Because she's overworking herself."

"So how is that your fault?" Fate asked.

"She always overworks herself. Whether it's mentally or physically... she's always been overdoing it."

"What are you getting at?"

"Magical stress can build up on the body over time, right?" Hayate asked, looking at Fate.

"Yes..."

"Well, when... when you and Nanoha were both searching for the Jewel Seeds," Hayate continued (carefully choosing her words as she knew this was a touchy subject with Fate sometimes), "she... knocked you down, right? With a huge Starlight Breaker attack?"

"Yes..."

"I wasn't there, but... I saw video... that was a huge bombardment attack, and she was using power well beyond her skill and level."

"So how does that relate to you?"

"Well six months after that, during the Book of the Night Sky incident... Nanoha was fighting the old Reinforce while you and I were trapped in the book, right?"

"Hayate, listen," Fate began, finally understanding what she was getting too, but Hayate cut her off.

"She used her Excelion Mode because I couldn't override the system fast enough! And then she just exhausted herself... if I had woken up earlier and stopped the defense system, then –" She stopped mid-sentence, more thoughts coming to her. "I'm the one who caused that whole incident anyway! I'm the one who made the book go out of control in the first place, and –"

"Hayate." Fate said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Stop it. This isn't your fault, at all. First of all, Nanoha chose to use the Excelion mode on her own will. Second, the Wolkenritter were gathering the pages without telling you. If the Lieze twins hadn't completed it that night, than the Wolkenritter would have done it anyway later, and the book would've gone berserk either way. Also, if you had stopped the system faster before I managed to escape from the book, who knows what would've happened to me? Finally, you didn't have any control over what the book did. It was just draining your power. And," she continued as Hayate opened her mouth to try to counter that argument, "it's not your fault at all that the book chose you as its master. Even as its master, you wouldn't have been able to stop it from absorbing you and me in the first place. You didn't have any control over that."

The two stood in silence for a minute. Fate smiled inwardly, pleased at her own speech. She didn't know she could sound so good on the spot like that.

"...I'm sorry," Hayate said, looking back over the landscape at the now almost complete sunset. "I guess I'm just worried about her." She managed a small smile. "And right after I tell Vita not to say things like this, what Nanoha would think..." She looked back at Fate. "Thank you, Fate."

Fate hugged her, smiling. "It's what friends are for."

Hayate hugged her back. "But right now, Nanoha's the one who needs our help the most. I want to do whatever I can to try and help her get out of this."

Fate let go of her, looking back at the sun, which was just a small line over the horizon now. "I do too."

"Because that's what friends are for?"

Fate nodded. "Mm." She closed her eyes in thought. "Nanoha's the one who taught me that. She taught me the meaning of friendship."

"Nanoha... she's a really kind person, isn't she? She really... saved both of us. Of course, you saved me too..."

Fate nodded slowly. "Want to go check on her?"

"Mm."

The two turned their backs to the sun as it finally fully collapsed behind the horizon, and headed back inside the building.

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"Signum," Fate called out to the magenta-haired Velka knight as she and Hayate entered Nanoha's room. "And Zafira," she said, noticing the blue wolf standing next to her."

"Hey," Hayate added, following in after.

"Hello," Signum said, with her usual coolness. "I just got back with Zafira and heard about Takamachi here from Shamal..."

Hayate sighed. "Vita's taking it hard."

"Knowing her, that seems normal."

Fate and Hayate walked over to the bed. "Nothing's changed, I guess?" Fate asked.

"Like I said, I just got here, but from what I've heard from Shamal, she's been like this since they finished operating."

Fate said nothing, staring at Nanoha, lost in her own thoughts.

Hayate sat on the side of the bed, patting Zafira's head. "Fate and I were just discussing what might have caused this..."

Signum nodded. "So were Shamal and I. She believes it's because she overworked her body too much."

Hayate nodded. "That's what Fate and I thought, too." She turned to Fate. "Fate, did you see Vita on the way up here?"

There was no response.

"Fate?"

"Eh?" Fate looked around, snapping out of her little "zone." "Eh?" She looked at Hayate. "Oh, no..."

"Testarossa, is alright if I speak to you privately for a moment?" Signum asked.

Fate looked at her, surprised. "Alright..."

The two walked outside, Signum shutting the door behind her.

"Testarossa, her condition, as I hope you know, is in no way your fault."

Fate blinked, caught off-guard by the statement. "E-eh?" Signum's ability to seemingly read minds like that creeped her out sometimes.

"I can tell you're blaming this on yourself."

Fate was silent, looking down at the floor.

"You were on the helicopter as Vita and her left, right?"

Fate still said nothing.

"And the transmission received ordered specifically for those two to be sent out, from what I heard."

"I still should've come," Fate finally said, looking back up at the knight.

"Even if you were there, you couldn't have helped her. She should've been able to fire her attack before any bots got up that high to them. But because she's overworked herself all this time, she couldn't react fast enough. It wasn't your fault, and it wasn't Vita's fault, either. If it's anyone fault, it's that of Nanoha's for overworking herself like she has."

"But –"

"Listen, Testarossa," Signum said, placing a hand on the younger one's shoulder. "There wasn't anything anyone could have done. This isn't your fault."

Fate looked silently up at her. She trusted Signum. Signum was like a mentor to her, and a big sister in some ways.

"I'm not lying, Testarossa," Signum added more quietly.

"...Alright." Fate said, barely audible.

"Nanoha cares about you. She needs you and Hayate, and all of us now. So don't waste time thinking that it might be your fault, mostly because it isn't to begin with, and she needs that time."

"...Thank you, Signum."

Signum gave one of her rare smiles. "I'm going to go look for Vita."

Fate gave her a smile in return. "Okay."

With that, the two parted.

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Vita kicked off her shoes, and fell onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. _Dammit. Why was I so stupid? How could I have been so _stupid?_ I just let that bot come up and hit her. I'm supposed to be covering her. _Her mind flashed back to watching the knife come out of her body, watching her fall down to the ground, then tumble in the snow helplessly. And then that last thing she said...

"_I'm sorry... it was my mistake... are you alright, Vita?"_

Even after being stabbed, she asked if Vita was alright. She was so... selfless.

_I know Hayate told me not to blame it on myself, but it really is my fault, _Vita thought to herself. She looked over at the clock. It was seven. _I guess I'll go see Nanoha again before I got to sleep..._

She shut her eyes. _I just want her to be okay..._

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Chapter 3 end.

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A/N: Ahhhh! Poor Vita... :[ I make myself sad sometimes. Ehe. Well! I hope that was enjoyed by all. R&R right? I'll love you forever for reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, here's the last chapter, the big sha-bang. Enjoy. :) Please do read the note at the end.

Reviews:  
**L4a: **Who's Zafira? ...Joke, joke. xD And... zomg! It's the LAST CHAPTER!  
**Riddly: **:D! I'm so glad you're enjoying it. I've actually never read the Nanoha manga, I just saw that caption once. But I do desperately want to read it. Know of any place I can get it? xD Anyway, I hope you like fic overall! I'll be writing more stories soon! 8D

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Chapter Four

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The clock on Vita's nightstand started ringing, as it did everyday at 5:30 A.M. And like every other day, the red-haired knight groaned. She lazily shifted her arm around, eventually finding the clock and slamming down the button.

Slowly, she got out of bed, and dressed herself in her brown TSAB uniform. The day started out like every other for her, but for Nanoha, there was no real difference between the afternoon of yesterday and today. She was just laying on the hospital bed, waiting for what would happen to her. _How much of a coma is she actually in?_ Vita wondered to herself. _Can she hear at all? Can she think? Or is it just like sleeping? And if it's like sleeping, I wonder if she can dream..._

Vita shook off her thoughts and headed out of her room, walking the long distance between her quarters and the intensive care unit. When she got there, there were already a doctor and two nurses.

"Ah, you're Vita, right?" One of the nurses asked. "We were just about to call you."

"Why? Is Nanoha awake?" Vita said, excitement welling up inside her.

"...No. My apologies..."

Vita's little balloon of hope popped. "Then what's up?"

"We'll explain in a minute. We called her other friends."

"Is she okay?"

The nurse opened her mouth to speak, when Fate, Hayate, and the rest of the Wolkenritter entered the room.

"Guys," Vita said, walking over to them, "what's going on?"

Shamal hugged her. "Vita, I'm sorry," she said, her voice shaking.

Vita looked around. "Why? Shamal, what's going on?"

The doctor turned to the group. "This is the part I hate about being a doctor." He sighed. "Miss Takamachi... isn't going to get better. She isn't going to wake up."

The group was shocked into silence, so he continued. "We consulted many others about this, all professionals... she just doesn't have the strength to pull out of this. Therefore, instead of just keeping her on this life support..."

"No!" Vita said, realizing what he was getting at. "No! You can't do that! She'll die!" She turned to Shamal. "Shamal! Shamal, please, do something! You're a doctor!"

Shamal was crying. "I tried everything I could Vita, I'm so sorry..."

"Please don't do this!" Vita said to the doctor. "Just keep her alive! She'll wake up, I know it!"

The doctor looked down, clearly not pleased with this result either. "Miss, I truly am sorry, but –"

It occurred to Vita that not only were she and Shamal crying, but so were Fate and Hayate. "But we need her! And I'm sure Nanoha would want to stay here! She'll wake up, please!" She ran over to Nanoha's bed. "Nanoha! Nanoha, come on, wake up!"

Fate and Hayate followed her over. The blonde took Nanoha's hand, and Hayate placed her hand on Vita's shoulder, kneeling next to her.

_Nanoha... It's my fault this is happening, I didn't come with you..._

_Nanoha, this is all my fault, I wish I had been a stronger person..._

_Nanoha... I'm so sorry... it was _my_ mistake. I didn't protect you..._

"Is... is everyone ready?" One of the nurses said, her hand on the plug.

Vita buried her face in the covers, and Hayate hugged her. Fate squeezed harder on Nanoha's hand, closing her eyes. They just couldn't watch.

They heard a small gasp, then sounds of everything shutting down.

"...Come on, you guys can't look like that if you were about to see a friend off... right...?"

Three heads instantly turned their direction of the voice, and found two blue eyes looking at them with a small smile.

"N... Nanoha, Nanoha!" The girls hugged her immediately, forgetting she had bandages and bruises and cuts all over her. Nanoha's face brightened, and the tears of sadness from seconds ago turned into those of joy.

"Nanoha..." they all said her name a few more times, others crowding around the bed. "Nanoha, how did you do it?" Fate asked.

Nanoha smiled. "It was simple."

They all stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"I have people here I need to stay with. People that I love and care about. I just couldn't let myself leave all that behind, could I?"

She was embraced once more. "Oh, Nanoha!"

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"It's truly amazing."

"About Nanoha?"

Signum nodded, walking down the hall. "How many thought she wouldn't make it again?"

"Every doctor we asked," Shamal replied. "Everyone who had knowledge about this."

"What about her mobility? Will she walk or fly, do you think?"

"We thought definitely no for both of those, but with that will of hers, who knows? If she was able to pull out of that coma, I'd think probably."

Signum gave one of her rare smiles. "I think she'll get it into the girls' heads that they shouldn't blame themselves."

Shamal smiled back. "I sure hope so."

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Fate sat next to Nanoha, supporting her up.

"Grab onto the bars, please," the nurse said holding onto the end of the walker."

Nanoha took some deep breathes. Even with Fate's help, just sitting up took a lot out of her. She could move her legs alright (even thought it hurt), but who knows if they'd support her? She took hold of the bars.

"Now pull yourself up."

Nanoha did so, Fate still holding her up. She stood with Fate's support, not yet trying to get her legs to stand her up.

"Please let go of her."

Fate looked nervously at Nanoha, who managed a smile back. "It's okay. Let go."

Fate did so, and Nanoha instantly fell on the floor.

"Nanoha!" The blonde said, kneeling next to her. She took her arms to pull her up.

"No!" Nanoha said suddenly, surprising Fate. "I'm fine. Let me do it."

She slowly let go of her and stood. Vita and Hayate watched from the other side of the room.

Nanoha raised her arms to the lower bars of the walker, grabbing onto them. Very slowly, she pulled her torso up. She shifted her legs under her, and pushed up with her feet. She managed to get herself up a little more, then gasped and gave out because of the pain.

"Nanoha!" Fate said again, kneeling to her side once more. "Nanoha..."

Nanoha breathed heavily, and looked at Fate. "Let me try once more."

Fate pulled away once again, and Nanoha took hold of the bars. Very slowly she pulled herself up into a sort of bent standing position. Shutting her eyes from the pain, she attempted to straighten out her knees and put more of the weight on her legs rather than her walker, and managed to almost stand up completely straight for a second, before crying out in the pain once more and falling onto the bed behind her.

"That's excellent, you can stand up," The nurse said.

Nanoha opened her eyes. "Heh... you think so...?" She said between deep breathes.

"Things can only get better from here." She smiled. "I'll leave this in here in case you want to try again. But don't do it without someone around, alright?"

Nanoha nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

The nurse smiled again and left.

"Nanoha... do you think..." Hayate began to say.

Nanoha nodded. "Yeah. I'll walk again."

The four girls all smiled. "How do you feel other than that?" Fate asked.

"A little sore," Nanoha said. _Okay, maybe more than "a little..." _"I guess it'll take a while, but I'll get better."

The other three looked down, silently blaming themselves once again.

"Hey, hey, don't feel bad about it," Nanoha said, almost reading their thoughts. "It's my fault anyway."

They looked at her, surprised.

"I... I need to learn to take it easy," Nanoha continued. "I just overdid it too much, for too long."

"Nanoha..." Fate began.

"Fate, it's not because you didn't come with me. You couldn't have known it was that bad. It was supposed to be a five-minute thing. And Hayate," Nanoha said, looking at her, "don't ever blame yourself over the Book of Darkness. I had to use the Excelion mode to hold up against the old Reinforce, and there's nothing you could have done about that."

Everyone was silent.

"...And Vita."

Vita looked up at her suddenly.

"This wasn't your fault either.

"B-but, I –"

"That bot that stabbed me was under an invisibility spell!" Nanoha said. "And you had gone to get another that was coming up to us, right?"

The red-haired girl just stared at her.

"I just didn't react fast enough." She paused. "Come here."

Vita blinked, but did so.

"Promise me you'll stop blaming yourself for this." Nanoha said, putting her hand on Vita's shoulder.

"I... I promise."

Nanoha smiled and hugged her. "Thank you."

Vita hugged her back, and the two broke away when the door opened.

"I'm sorry to bother you all," Shamal said, "but the higher-ups wanted to have a meeting about the whole incident, and I came to get you..."

"Oh, alright," Fate said. She gave Nanoha a hug. "I'll come once this is done, okay?"

"Me too," Hayate added.

Nanoha smiled. "Okay."

And with that, the three girls left, leaving Nanoha alone.

She sighed, picking up the red jewel from her bedside table. "I guess I really messed up... huh, Raising Heart...?"

There was no response from the gem.

"That's okay though. I'm going to get better, and we'll be back in action in no time."

"_Alright, my master."_

She tied the device around her neck, and smiled. It was nice to have it back there.

In spite of what the nurse said earlier, Nanoha grabbed the bars and pulled herself up. This time, she stood up completely straight, before falling back onto the bed again.

After a couple breathes, she took hold of the bars once again. _I've got to keep trying. For Fate... for Hayate... and for Vita. _

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The four walked to the meeting. "You're all going to see Nanoha again after this, right?" Shamal asked.

Hayate smiled. "Yeah."

"Even though the nurse told her not to, I bet she's in there trying to stand up again," Fate said.

Shamal nodded. "Knowing her, yes. I just hope she doesn't work herself too hard."

Vita was silent, lost in her own thoughts. _It might not be my fault... but never again. I won't let something like that happen to you ever again, Nanoha. I promise._

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"_I will always be by your side, I will stay by you whenever it may be.  
Even if everything in this world is your enemy, I will be a shield to only you.  
Before I knew it, my tears light up tomorrow, towards the sun of miracles.  
I have already gone, because there is something I can protect."_

- "_Pray," Nana Mizuki_

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**The end.****  
**

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A/N: The end! Yay! Well, I hope you all enjoyed. Definitely more Nanoha stories to come. I'm surprised this fic ended up being focused on Vita a lot of the time, because I hadn't intended that from the beginning. I still loved writing this, and I hope you loved reading it just as much! So until next time,

- Medli


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